It's Mario's 30th Anniversary and Nintendo Doesn't Care

In 1981, Donkey Kong hit arcades, giving the world it's first look at Jumpman, a character whose name would be changed to Mario. This humble carpenter would go on to become the most recognizable face in all of video games, nay one of the most recognized fictional characters in the universe with popularity that eclipses even that of stars like Mickey Mouse.

So here we are in 2011, thirty years after Mario's debut. 30 years. That's a pretty big anniversary for the biggest video game icon on the planet. And yet Nintendo has absolutely nothing planned for the plumber's big anniversary. No game, no anniversary soundtrack, no special figurines. Nada, zip, zilch.  No, only the Super Mario Bros. series get special attention. Hey, no disrespect to Super Mario Bros. The game is a classic and one of my favorite video games. But without Donkey Kong, Mario wouldn't even be here and neither would that groundbreaking 1985 platformer, nor Nintendo's American branch. For that matter, I shudder to think what the video game industry would be without Mario. Suffice to say, it would be a very different place.

I really don't get why Nintendo doesn't view Mario's 30th anniversary as a big deal. Many video game characters don't even stick around for five years, but Mario has lasted for three decades. That is a huge triumph and I firmly believe he'll be here for another 30 years. From doing some searching on the net, it's crystal clear that the fans view Mario's 30th anniversary as something monumental. I love Nintendo, but sometimes I really don't know what the head brass of that company is thinking.